In general, a mass spectrometer is an analysis device configured to measure mass of a compound. The mass spectrometer is configured to electrically charge and ionize the compound, to measure mass and an electrical charge amount and to determine a molecular weight of the compound. As the method of ionizing the compound, an electron ionization method of using an electron beam, a method of colliding atoms at high speed, a method of using laser, and the like have been known.
The method of using laser is a method of mixing a matrix for assisting the ionization of the compound with a compound (sample) to be analyzed, arranging the mixture on a target of the analysis device, and illuminating the laser to the sample to ionize the sample with the aid of the matrix. The method has merits in that it is possible to measure a molecular weight of a high molecular material, to analyze a sample of a femtomole due to the high sensitivity and to remarkably reduce a phenomenon that the compound to be analyzed is split upon the ionization. Therefore, the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry method using the laser is efficient in the mass spectrometry of the high molecular biochemical material such as protein and hexane. The MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer for the method is recently commercialized.
However, the typical matrix material has a molecular weight of hundreds of Da. When a molecular weight of the compound to be analyzed is similar to a molecular weight of the matrix material, a decomposed matter of the matrix appears on a mass spectrum. Therefore, the above method has a demerit in that it is difficult to use the same for the mass spectrometry of the compound having the molecular weight of hundreds of Da or less.
Also, for the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, a sample, which is an analysis target, is dropped on a sample plate, the sample plate is arranged at a predetermined position of the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer and the laser is illuminated to ionize the sample. However, the high-volatile sample volatilizes and disappears from the sample plate before the laser is illuminated. Therefore, it is necessary to increase a concentration of the high-volatile sample. Also, it may not possible to perform the mass spectrometry, depending on the samples.
In the meantime, for the mass spectrometry of the high-volatile material of the chemical materials, a gas chromatography method is mainly used. The method is a method of using a principle that when a sample is arranged with a gas (carrier gas) such as helium and hydrogen being enabled to flow while keeping a flow rate thereof constant, the sample is heated and evaporated and the respective components are separated due to a difference of moving speeds while the sample passes through a long metallic pipe having active alumina or silica gel filled therein. However, the gas chromatography method has demerits in that the steps for analyzing each sample are more complicated, the cost for one analysis is increased and the correctness is lowered, as compared to the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.